Austin Wells has emerged as the American League Rookie of the Year favorite with just a few weeks to go in the 2024 MLB season.
The Yankees catcher has been a surprisingly big part of the Bronx Bombers’ success this year, taking over the starting job after Jose Trevino went down with a quad injury earlier this season.
Wells has also often slotted in as the Yankees’ cleanup hitter behind Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, providing much-needed protection for their two superstars.
After hitting a tie-breaking three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to help the Yankees secure a comeback 10-4 win over the Royals on Monday, Wells is now -140 at FanDuel Sportsbook to win the award, just ahead of Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser, who is +135.
Wells has a .252/.342/.438 slash line with 13 home runs and 49 RBIs in 100 games for the Yankees this season.
He has also emerged as one of the best defensive catchers in baseball with a +11 Fielding Run Value, which is fourth-best in baseball.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday that Wells deserves to be right in the race, but he couldn’t have imagined this type of play from the 25-year-old coming into the year.
“No, not to this level,” Boone said, per MLB.com. “Not to the level he’s been at now for a couple of months — hitting in the four-hole behind Aaron Judge, and for good reason.”
Wells, who was +2500 to win it at BetMGM during spring training, takes control of what has been a wide-open race for the AL Rookie of the Year award all season.
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Orioles phenom Jackson Holliday opened as the favorite but quickly fell down the odds boards after a rough start to the season.
In early June, Yankees pitcher Luis Gil took over the top spot after a dominant start to his career before slowing down a bit as the summer dragged on.
Gil remains the third favorite (+850) at FanDuel.
